BBC Worldwide is to follow Apple's success and develop a music download service. The BBC will offer streamed for free and paid download works from its archive of music.

Unlike the Apple iTunes service, the BBC shop will not be flogging ordinary content. Instead it will be live sessions recorded at BBC HQ, often of current singles, acoustic versions of popular tracks, or cover versions of other artists' work. The performances are always well-recorded, and on Radio 1 often get requested for replay by fans.

BBC sessions have featured as B-sides to CD singles before now and as bonus tracks on albums. In 1994, a massive collection of The Beatles' BBC recordings were finally released on CD. Talks are underway with major recording labels in a bid to widen the collection.  EMI has signed up but MusicWeek reports that talks are underway with other major labels. A source also claimed that the earliest the service could launch is January 2009.

The free streaming option is said to be ad-supported. This will annoy UK punters who spent a lot of money over the years paying the BBC licence fee and will think they should get stuff they and their parents paid for, for nothing.